As Zimmerman Case Begins, VPC Research Details Hundreds of Examples
of Innocent Lives Lost to “Concealed Carry Killers”

Washington, DC — As the trial opens this week over the deadly shooting of Trayvon
Martin, research shows that similar fatal incidents are shockingly common. The
Violence Policy Center has uncovered hundreds of examples of non-self defense
incidents involving private citizens legally allowed to carry concealed handguns.
These incidents resulted in 516 deaths — including 24 mass shootings and the killing
of 14 law enforcement officers.

The VPC details these incidents
in the latest update to Concealed Carry Killers,
an online resource that offers examples of non-self defense killings by private
citizens legally allowed to carry concealed handguns in public. Because there
is no comprehensive recordkeeping of deaths involving concealed handgun permit
holders and many states in fact bar the release of such information, the examples
on the Concealed Carry Killers website are taken primarily from news reports
and most likely represent a fraction of actual events.

“One
of the most shocking aspects of the Trayvon Martin case is that similar incidents
involving concealed handgun permit holders happen all the time,” said VPC Legislative
Director Kristen Rand. “We don’t yet know the verdict in the George Zimmerman
trial. What we do know is that if the gun were not in the equation, Trayvon Martin
would have walked home with his iced tea and Skittles.”

Concealed
Carry Killers documents 381 incidents in 32 states since May 2007, resulting
in 516 deaths involving private citizens legally allowed to carry concealed handguns.
Twenty-four of the incidents were mass shootings, resulting in the deaths of 107
victims. Fourteen of the victims were law enforcement officers.

The
graph below shows the status of incidents documented in the report:

In
the vast majority of the incidents documented (307, or 81 percent), the concealed
carry killer either committed suicide (132), has already been convicted (131),
perpetrated a murder-suicide (36), or was killed in the incident (8).

Of
the 62 cases still pending, the vast majority (52) of concealed carry killers
have been charged with criminal homicide. Four were deemed incompetent to stand
trial, and six incidents are still under investigation. An additional 12 incidents
were fatal unintentional shootings involving the gun of the concealed handgun
permit holder.

The 381 incidents do not include any that were
eventually ruled as self-defense. Only 12 of the hundreds of examples tallied
in Concealed Carry Killers were eventually deemed lawful self-defense.
Such cases are then removed from the site’s ongoing totals.

A
detailed summary of each of the 381 incidents is available at http://www.vpc.org/ccwkillers.htm.
Clicking on each category leads to a state-by-state breakout for the incidents
with current known status. To review all deaths involving concealed carry killers,
click on “Total People Killed by Concealed Carry Killers.”